Until recently, almost all of Venezuela's mostly urban and educated population had access to clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and electricity. It was an affluent country, with the largest proven fossil-fuel reserves in the world.

But its economy is shrinking at an alarming rate, while at the same time inflation is spiralling out of control. Poverty and violent unrest have ensued.

What went so wrong? Here’s a closer look at Venezuela’s economic collapse.

An economy in freefall

The heady days of 2001 – when Venezuela was the richest country on the continent – are long gone.

With the cost of consumer goods skyrocketing and the quality of life nosediving, it’s no surprise that many Venezuelans are looking to leave the country.

This has resulted in long queues at passport offices. It can then take months before applicants actually receive the documentation they need to start a new life abroad.

Elsewhere in South America there is a real worry that the sheer number of people trying to flee Venezuela could spark a full-scale migrant crisis.

Months of anti-government protests have left more than 120 dead and hundreds injured.

And tensions have ratcheted up further over the recent election of a new assembly that could overhaul the constitution to give President Nicolás Maduro sweeping powers.

Image: REUTERS

What happens now?

Venezuela is currently on a knife edge.

A strengthening of the economy could yet pull it back from the brink of civil war. President Maduro has previously been optimistic, stating that 2017 will be the “first year of the new history of the Venezuelan economy”.